Ex railway worker admits handing £400k of items nicked from Damien Hirst

A former railway worker who handled £400,000 worth of clothes and musical equipment stolen from artist Damien Hirst is facing jail.

Leslie Gomm, 61, admitted handling stolen goods while his son, Liam, 36, has now been charged with burgling Hirst’s studio at Thames Wharf in Hammersmith.

Among the stolen items belonging to Hirst were unique T-shirts, twelve ‘specially adapted jackets’ and jeans designed by him, along with a set of hi-tech speakers.

Hirst is one of the world’s richest artists with a net worth around £300m.

Leslie Gomm, of Fulham, appeared at Isleworth Crown Court today (weds) via video-link from HMP Wandsworth and spoke to confirm his personal details.

Ravinder Johal, prosecuting, said: ‘There have been some developments in the case. Mr Gomm’s son has now been charged with burglary.’

Mr Johal said Liam Gomm’s plea and trial preparation hearing will take place at Kingston Crown Court on September 19.

‘The son said he was asleep and had no knowledge of the burglary,’ the barrister said.

Samir Asha, defending Leslie Gomm, said: ‘In his initial statement, Mr Hirst said most of these items were work in progress, so the items stolen may have not had as much value.’

Judge Edward Connell remanded Leslie in custody to appear with Liam at Kingston Crown Court on September 19.

Leslie Gomm handled the stolen items between June 29 and July 8.

Hirst burst onto the art scene in the 1990s, along with fellow artists like Tracey Emin, and his work was championed by the influential collector Charles Saatchi.

He is a Turner Prize winner who has produced famous pieces including a tiger shark in formaldehyde, which he called 1991’s The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living.

His works have sold for huge sums, such as Lullaby Spring, a cabinet holding 6,136 individually painted pills, which sold for £15 million in 2007.